Date: Thu, 15 Jun 1995 14:58:36 -0500
From: "Thomas J. Creswell"
Subject: Re: Teen Slang Terms (Gank and Gaffle)
Could gaffle be somehow related to or constitute a mispronunciation or
pronunciation of an imperfectly heard "snaffle" defined to purloin or snitch
and labeled>>" The second word is entirely new to me. It is "to gaffle"
>> (spelling?) meaning simply to steal something from someone without
>> violence or their awareness. As in, she didn't know it, but I gaffled
>> a stick of gum from her purse.
>> My sources are only oral. The informants had no clue as to
>> etymology but they said both terms were old. But then, old to
>> teenagers can mean last week.
>
>
>I wonder if "gaffle" bears any relation to "gaff," meaning a trick or a
>swindle. "Don't blow the gaff" is a phrase that might be used by theater
>people as well as con artists, the gaff being the key part of a trick or
>illusion that you want to keep hidden from your audience.
>
>Just a thought
>
>Kate Catmull kate[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]bga.com
>
>
Tom Creswell